


nothing wrong with gone

by MiniNephthys



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-05-11 21:41:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5642956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiniNephthys/pseuds/MiniNephthys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'Unless you dated his dust.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	nothing wrong with gone

They’ve thrown themself at Sans twenty-three times now.

On try twenty-four, they start down the golden hallway again, and get midway before they stop suddenly. Staring down at Sans’ face for a few seconds, they turn and head the opposite direction.

Take a walk, they think. Clear their head. Come at the problem with a fresh mind and the solution will present itself.

New Home is silent save for their footsteps. The trip through the Core is quicker on the way back: even on a walk, they don’t want to get lost. They don’t bother being tossed about by puzzles in Hotland, and head straight for Waterfall.

The riverperson is one of the few monsters who doesn’t fear them, and also one of the ones useful enough to be spared. They give him a glance before starting their path without them. Their feet will ache after this, but at this point they’ve practically ceased feeling pain.

Waterfall has a pleasant ambiance. The sound of rushing water isn’t ruined by voices or the footfalls of anyone else. They walk slowly, savoring it for the first time this loop, and pause briefly at a particular pile of dust before continuing onward.

Too quickly, they reach Snowdin. They circle the town, feeling cold sink into their bones and the snow turn their shoes soggy, before deciding that this is as far as they need to go. The walk back will be enough, and fighting Sans will-

They stop. They remember this pile of dust, Papyrus, and a particular memory comes to them.

They smile.

“I can still make spaghetti.”

Their voice has gone unused long enough that it hurts their throat. There’s no answer, of course. Papyrus’ standards or lack thereof are irrelevant now, and he can’t hear them. So, he can’t mind or say no, either.

They scoop up a bit of his dust and turn around.

Even now, Grillby’s has some residual warmth, a shelter in the cold - and Papyrus’ house is still locked, anyway. They sit at the bar and dump Papyrus’ dust on the seat next to them.

They think about what they’d order, if anyone was here to serve them. They think about going behind the bar and seeing what drinks are still there, and decide not to bother. They think briefly that they’re underage, and briefly startle at the noise that comes from their lips before realizing that they’re laughing.

They’re having so many normal thoughts. Thoughts that don’t have anything to do with killing or with advancing in their goal. The quiet, broken only by the music still endlessly playing from the broken jukebox, feels almost… companionable.

Papyrus had faith that they could become a better person. Who knows why - they never showed him any sign of decency in this timeline. There was a time when they told him they could make spaghetti, came into his house and admired his racecar bed, and called him all the time just to see what he’d say. Now they killed him just to see what he would say. It’s simple. It doesn’t matter which path they go down, they feel the same way about it.

They consider trying to fight Sans a twenty-fourth time and their body aches in protest. They don’t know if they can defeat him and they haven’t been making progress. Maybe, this really is the time to give up. To do anything else.

And if they give up, does it matter what kind of run they end it on?

They look at the pile of dust next to them, and begin to think about resetting.


End file.
